Montalvo was on administrative desk duty with the Border Patrol since January 2011, when the investigation began.

He pleaded guilty to count one of the indictment, which charged him with participating in a conspiracy to make straw purchases of firearms. During the plea, Montalvo admitted that from November 2010 to January 2011 he knowingly recruited other individuals to straw purchase firearms from federally licensed firearms dealers in the El Paso area.

The other 19 counts were dismissed.

Montalvo faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Montalvo, who is in custody, will be sentenced Nov. 9.

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According to the indictment, between November 2010 and January 2011, Montalvo and Gonzales-Ortiz participated in a conspiracy to illegally buy firearms, ammunition and high-capacity magazines with the intent to export them to Mexico. Montalvo reportedly bought about 20,000 rounds of ammunition and 97 high-capacity magazines, including 10 100-round magazines for 5.56 mm rifles and 10 75-round drum magazines for 7.62x39 mm rifles.

On Thursday, Gonzales-Ortiz pleaded guilty to an information charging her with misprision of a felony. In her plea agreement, Gonzales-Ortiz admitted that, in December 2010, she knew Montalvo was committing a federal offense and she failed to report the crime to law enforcement.

She faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine. She will be deported after she completes her prison sentence. Gonzales-Ortiz has been in federal custody since her arrest on April 9. Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for Nov. 2.